Spaying Kitten some precautions?

daones

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
May 29, 2013
Messages
138
Purraise
170
Hi Guys, so some people may have seem my very unfortunate last spay event the other day
Disappointed with Vet after spaying

I am really nervous to take another cat after this but i think there are some things that I could of done better to prevent any issues, after all we already have spayed the mother months ago and that went without any incidents. But we need to take her soon as she could go into her first heat anytime now and also her brothers are already bothering her... I can confirm right now though she is not in heat. We plan to take her on the 29th or 30th this month so just next week.

This kitten we plan to spay is the sister of the one who passed away, my concern with her she is a bundle of energy I am thinking how long should we keep her at the vets? Generally we like to keep her at least until the Anesthesia wear's off because i have my first cat we brought her home the same day she was still under the side effects and was walking around like nothing happened and we had to get her restitched. So generally a one night stay if we get her surgery done during the day.

When bringing her home should we keep her in a carrier/cage? We have a medium sized cage big enough for her to move around and eat and drink. The room I usually use is a spare bedroom but there are jumping points, and she's the jumper of the group. With the mom we actually kept her in a carrier when we went to sleep but we allowed her kittens in the room with her so she had company... This kitten also I know doesnt like to be alone she will yell anytime she' alone because shes always had company.

Another thing is about the litter, at the pet shop i seen Lava sand which we used for the last kitten, i was wondering if that stuff is any good as I heard the regular litter can have a lot of dust and may cause infection... The only downside i seen to this is its quite small and with the cone on them they always seem to rub against the litter and get's stuck in their hair.

Thats all I can think of for now, if anyone has any tips feel free to post, thanks.
 

Sarthur2

Cat lady extraordinaire
Staff Member
Advisor
Joined
Mar 8, 2015
Messages
35,987
Purraise
17,680
Location
Sunny Florida
If the cat’s surgery is scheduled in the morning, the cat can usually be picked up in the afternoon. Keeping her in the cage you mentioned for an extra day would help.

How old is the kitten? Will they use internal dissolving stitches?

I had my kittens done at 12 weeks and they had internal stitches, so I used no cones and they went back to regular activity within a day.
 

di and bob

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 12, 2012
Messages
16,582
Purraise
22,962
Location
Nebraska, USA
Sounds like you have a plan! I would keep her in the cage until she acts too restless, usually with mine, it was only a day! Her brothers might rough house with her though, so if you can't be there I would keep her in a room by herself for a few days. I have never used a cone, and have never had a problem. Too me they contort so much trying to get the cone off, and it causes so much stress, to me it's not worth it. Just watch her and make sure she doesn't try to jump too high, a couch or chair is fine.
Since it is a sister, you might have an xray done to check for any heart issues, and possibly bloodwork. And make darn sure they know about your previous problems, especially if it was an allergy, etc. to the anesthesia, so they are ready. I don't blame you at all for you to want this one to stay longer, but are you sure she will be monirored properly? You would be a much better 'nurse'. I pray seh will come through fine, please keep us posted!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #4

daones

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
May 29, 2013
Messages
138
Purraise
170
If the cat’s surgery is scheduled in the morning, the cat can usually be picked up in the afternoon. Keeping her in the cage you mentioned for an extra day would help.

How old is the kitten? Will they use internal dissolving stitches?

I had my kittens done at 12 weeks and they had internal stitches, so I used no cones and they went back to regular activity within a day.
Im not sure about that, after i had the issue with her sister cat i talked with a guy I know here who used to run a shelter for cats.. He referred me to a vet not too far from me who he always took his cats too and he said all the years he never lost one to a spay. But what he told me i was not aware of that they dont do an incision on the abdomen but the side flank? Which I thought was usually just for pregnant cats, but he also said they dont wear a cone just get a shirt for the cat... But i am a little uneasy about this method because i never did it with any of my other cats... I think i can talk with the vet, most likely they speak english as Paul I know doesnt speak Thai.

Also the kitten i believe is already 6 months old now.. which is why i want to take her very soon before she goes in heat... I think the initial vet told me to bring her in December but i was very busy that month.

For the cone, yes it would save a lot of stress for the kitten and for me but I always try to be on the safe side as i mentioned my first cat "sticker" her stitches came out so it always makes me worried... I think with "Kitty" the mother of this litter we probably could of just got rid of the cone as she was probably our easiest spay so far.
 
Last edited:
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #5

daones

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
May 29, 2013
Messages
138
Purraise
170
Sounds like you have a plan! I would keep her in the cage until she acts too restless, usually with mine, it was only a day! Her brothers might rough house with her though, so if you can't be there I would keep her in a room by herself for a few days. I have never used a cone, and have never had a problem. Too me they contort so much trying to get the cone off, and it causes so much stress, to me it's not worth it. Just watch her and make sure she doesn't try to jump too high, a couch or chair is fine.
Since it is a sister, you might have an xray done to check for any heart issues, and possibly bloodwork. And make darn sure they know about your previous problems, especially if it was an allergy, etc. to the anesthesia, so they are ready. I don't blame you at all for you to want this one to stay longer, but are you sure she will be monirored properly? You would be a much better 'nurse'. I pray seh will come through fine, please keep us posted!
yeah that's what i plan to do, after a few days i will probably let her out of the room with her siblings and mom while we can observe them. With the cone, the first day is the worst they will not like it at all, we might "vet" her to the cone first before we even do surgery so she can get used to it, i am just not comfortable keeping it off as when we sleep I wont sleep well knowing she might take off the bandage and lick.

I may talk to the vet before hand even possibly take the kitten in for bloodwork before surgery instead of the day of surgery to make sure there are no issues and as you mentioned tell them about what happened to her sister so they can have some precautions in case they share the same health issues. About keeping her there, yes my girlfriend said we should keep her 2 nights but i think just one night is fine because she will be so stressed being alone in a weird place that long and we can observe better here just concerned if something happens here.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #6

daones

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
May 29, 2013
Messages
138
Purraise
170
Hey Guys, I talked with Paul (the guy i mentioned he ran a shelter here for many cats over the years) he told me I shouldnt keep this kitten overnight at the vets but take back the same day which a lot of people I know do because of the stress being there alone and might be dogs and other cats making noises... Any thoughts on this? As mentioned our first cat Im weary of doing that because her stitches came out... I think one thing I might be okay doing is taking her in first thing in the morning and then picking her up in the evening before they close this way she has some time at the vet's to recuperate... And when i bring her home might just keep her in the kennel cage which is what we did to the mother cat while we sleep with food and water.
 

Sarthur2

Cat lady extraordinaire
Staff Member
Advisor
Joined
Mar 8, 2015
Messages
35,987
Purraise
17,680
Location
Sunny Florida
Definitely pick her up before they close and take her home the same day. Ask for 3 days of pain meds to take home.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #8

daones

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
May 29, 2013
Messages
138
Purraise
170
Definitely pick her up before they close and take her home the same day. Ask for 3 days of pain meds to take home.
Okay, I will try to do that just have to get the girlfriend on board, it seems like she wants to keep her at the vet but she doesnt understand about having them stay alone all night and stressed... They will usually give some meds, but this isnt in the states i think they will give an injection of some sort here in thailand but i noticed they only give antibiotics is this normal? I.E. the cat we just lost we took her home we only got one pouch of tablets to give twice a day im pretty sure this was antibiotics.
 

Sarthur2

Cat lady extraordinaire
Staff Member
Advisor
Joined
Mar 8, 2015
Messages
35,987
Purraise
17,680
Location
Sunny Florida
Try to clarify with the vet which meds you are getting. Both antibiotics and pain meds are good.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #10

daones

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
May 29, 2013
Messages
138
Purraise
170
So taking in her tomorrow morning for the checkup, its late night here already.. Feeling a bit anxious as can be expected so soon after losing her sister. I feel bad for her because she will be in some pain and shes been happy lately running around playing and sleeping but its something we have to do... Hopefully if the bloodwork comes back clean and the vet see's no other issue we will plan the spay for Wednesday morning. We've already cleaned the room we will be keeping her in and just have to clean the cage tomorrow that we will probably keep her in overnight when were asleep.

Do you think I should keep a cone on her when we bring her home when we arent around? Im just scared she might panic from the experience.

I posted a pic of her here.
1580144100106.png
 
Last edited:
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #11

daones

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
May 29, 2013
Messages
138
Purraise
170
Hey Guys,

Update on this yesterday was a very long day for me im trying to change my sleep schedule back to normal and was up about 23 hours straight... Anyway we took her in for a checkup yesterday with a new Vet... The new vet seemed decent, and another plus she spoke fluent english I told her about our unfortunate loss with her sister..

First thing she noticed before i even mentioned it was she has Fleas (i have another thread about this)... so she applied I think the name was Revolution and she also gave me a box for all my other cats. Only gripe i had was she applied it far down here neck it was almost on her back to where she could lick it. Anyway they took a blood test (6 different check apparently) and they said they would call in the evening.

She called when i was asleep as I just couldnt stay awake any longer so my girlfriend got the call, from translation as they spoke thai to each other we have to wait about 10 days to do another blood check before spaying as she is not healthy enough Her weight was my concern as we went to check she was 2.5kg which i think 2kg is the lowest for spay here.. She said something along the lines about her liver was not normal... Im assuming liver function test?? I dont know about blood test for cats but we humans have that... Anyway they said the number was high about 180 where normally it should be 100 (I will clarify tomorrow what she meant). The doctor told my girlfriend we have to feed her the same food everyday and dont change it and try to get her to eat more, she has always been the skinniest of the litter and she eats like a bird compared to her siblings.

So im glad at least we found out about this before hand and glad we were more through with precautions for her as we learned from her sister we didnt prepare beforehand as well, if anyone has any feedback on similar things regarding the blood test and spay that might help us with our diet let me know thanks.

Since we have to wait 10 days I might just go ahead and take the first of our boys, one of them I can tell has been the most persistent with wanting to mate... the other male from the litter our big boy "Blue" hasnt shown any interest.
 

Sarthur2

Cat lady extraordinaire
Staff Member
Advisor
Joined
Mar 8, 2015
Messages
35,987
Purraise
17,680
Location
Sunny Florida
So good to hear that you found an English speaking vet who is willing to deal with pre-existing conditions prior to spaying. Hopefully this little kitten will get healthier soon! In the meantime, it’s a great choice to go ahead with neutering the feisty male kitten! :)
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #13

daones

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
May 29, 2013
Messages
138
Purraise
170
I called the vet earlier in the day but i think a different vet was working, unfortunately i did not really understand what she meant just something about her liver was 180 and normally its 90-100... I read a little bit online about this but still not sure what we can do to improve it it seems like its related to hydration and diet maybe? Either way they said technically they could do the spay but its best to wait till her liver is a healthier count which I agree on, just wondering what I should do for her to help improve this as she did not give much information.
 

Elemteacherjoy

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Dec 30, 2019
Messages
53
Purraise
126
I think it's great that you have a vet who is taking precautions. I also wanted to chime in that I agree that, unless there are complications, taking her home the same day shouldn't be an issue. Unless they have an emergency clinic, most vet's offices (at least in the US, I don't know about where you are) don't have staff there all night anyway. So at home, she would at least have you there to keep an eye on her. Good luck with getting her health and weight back where it needs to be.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #16

daones

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
May 29, 2013
Messages
138
Purraise
170
I think it's great that you have a vet who is taking precautions. I also wanted to chime in that I agree that, unless there are complications, taking her home the same day shouldn't be an issue. Unless they have an emergency clinic, most vet's offices (at least in the US, I don't know about where you are) don't have staff there all night anyway. So at home, she would at least have you there to keep an eye on her. Good luck with getting her health and weight back where it needs to be.
Yes, over here its probably a lot less reliable then in the states which i can say about most things for service and quality but thats expected. Thanks, ill post an update next month once we are able to take her in again for a check. We are cutting it close though im hoping she doesnt go into heat before were able to spay her, then we might have to wait more time.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #17

daones

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
May 29, 2013
Messages
138
Purraise
170
We took her back today to do another blood check to see if her kidneys were healthy, they said everything is normal now so we have an appointment to bring her in Friday morning, then we will take her back in the evening hopefully everything should go okay... Mostly just worried how she will be when she is back home. I attached the results, the result of the SGPT(alt) was 180 a few weeks ago and down to 92 now which is why we had to wait... I dont know if the other things are normal but since they said we can spay her now then guess were good to go.
1581501111087.png
 
Last edited:
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #18

daones

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
May 29, 2013
Messages
138
Purraise
170
Hey Guys, we just got her back home now... we put her in a cage with food and water.. Only thing she is being restless and moving around all the time in the cage I can see that she is still under the effects of the anesthesia because she is falling over this i guess is normal but wish she would calm down.

One thing is they didnt do a normal spay this doctor does a flank spay i dont know if its better or not, anyway should i be worried that she is being so active in the cage so soon after surgery? It was just done today.
 

Sarthur2

Cat lady extraordinaire
Staff Member
Advisor
Joined
Mar 8, 2015
Messages
35,987
Purraise
17,680
Location
Sunny Florida
It’s just the anesthesia wearing off. She should calm down when it wears off. Perhaps you can hold her for awhile. She is a kitten though and will want to be active. Does she have internal or external stitches?
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #20

daones

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
May 29, 2013
Messages
138
Purraise
170
It’s just the anesthesia wearing off. She should calm down when it wears off. Perhaps you can hold her for awhile. She is a kitten though and will want to be active. Does she have internal or external stitches?
She has gotten better, we went to get dinner and came back and she ate the food we gave her and also went to the toilet. She actually seems really affectionate wanting to rub up against everything now. But thats probably still the anesthesia, I went into the room and turned off the lights and turned on some soothing music it seemed to work lol. Should be better by tomorrow im just wondering if I should put the cone on her while we sleep since she can lick where her bandage is.

Also im not really sure if she has external or internal i didnt ask the vet, i can find out monday when we take her back to change the bandage.
 
Top